


Studies in Grey

by K (Thiswasmydesign)



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Apprentice L, Apprentice Light, F/M, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Lightsabers, M/M, Next generation of force users, Tags to be added, another story I wrote because I wanted to read one like it and couldn't find one, but that's not new, death note with lightsabers?, they're both on their own side
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-02 01:05:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14533347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thiswasmydesign/pseuds/K
Summary: Many years have passed. Kylo Ren has established himself as the Supreme Leader in a new Empire of Ren, whilst Rey has fought for years to re-establish the Rebellion. In that time they have also taken on their own apprentices.Light Yagami - Kira - whose natural talent with the force to kill anyone, anywhere with only a name and face. L, orphaned in the battles with the empire, whose talent in the force to reach out into anyone's mind and see anything, including their crimes, has gained him the title in the rebellion of the greatest detective.For star wars readers; you don't really have to have seen Death Note to read, can be read as simply a next gen fic. For Death Note readers, you only need the very vaguest grasp of what happened in the last star wars.The cross over that no one asked for but that I thought might be fun to write!





	1. Kira

**Author's Note:**

> So like with corruption this is something I thought would have been done before because (to me at least) it makes so much sense! I went searching the archive and couldn't find anything more than a one shot, so as usual I had to write it. I normally wait until I'm further in to writing a story before starting to post, but I couldn't miss the opportunity to be really sad and say...
> 
> May the 4th be with you!

The Supreme Leader Kylo Ren drummed his fingers metronomically on the arm of his stone throne, barely altered since the fall of Snoke all those years ago. He was impatient, waiting for his apprentice to attend to his summons.

There were so few force users out there now, and those who could reach out to the force generally held only a weak affinity for it. However, Kylo’s apprentice was powerful, perhaps more powerful than him in raw, uncontrolled talent, and Kylo was having to work hard to train him in the limited time that they had. The boy was already seventeen and yet he had only been Kylo’s apprentice for two years.

By tradition his apprentice should have already reached the end of his training. An eighteen-year-old apprentice was unheard of, and yet he felt like they had barely begun.

At this point it was about time that his apprentice should be sent on his first mission for the Empire of Ren. His loyalty was certainly assured by now, his control of his power growing by the day, and it would only be a simple mission when all was said and done.

The doors swept open silently, admitting the apprentice. Kylo instinctively straightened, unable to show any weakness in front of this boy.

He was already like a weapon made human. He was physically flawless, never so much as a hair out of place. He held himself with confidence and assurance, commanding any room he entered – with the exception of Kylo’s throne room of course – and though he bent his knee before his master the gesture somehow never appeared to hold the respect it should. Perhaps it was because the boy would never cast his eyes down, but held his gaze in a permanent blazing challenge, proud and still just a little defiant to Kylo’s rule.

“Kira.”

“Master Ren.”

* * *

 

When Kylo Ren had first encountered his apprentice there had been nothing more than a passing moment of recognition before he was lost.

It seemed the galaxy continued to have a good sense of humour, to send such a powerful force-sensitive child crashing right into him. The boy could have been no older than seven years of age then, a perfectly acceptable age to start training as an apprentice in the force. But the child that had somehow got under his guard when so many soldiers and weapon blasts had failed had tumbled to the ground, staring up at him. He didn’t look at all shocked – he didn’t show any emotion at all, in fact, but Kylo could feel the force that surrounded both of them clashing in those seconds before a blaster had struck his side and regained his full attention.

It was ironic that such a powerful child, drawn to him amidst the chaos, should have been called Light when the force that emanated from him was so very dark.

By the time he had fought of an array of enemies and tried to find the child he had disappeared, fled through the battlefield and not even Kylo could find him, even reaching out through the force. The little child must already have some instinctive control of the force that surrounded him to be able to shield himself from Kylo’s power.

Light Yagami, the first force sensitive person Kylo Ren had encountered in years.

He had thought he and General Rey of the Resistance were the last of their kind.

Battles had taken him far from the boy soon after that, forcing him to cross the galaxy and crush those who would defy his rule until, without use of any ridiculous Death Star or world-ending weapons, he had most of the galaxy under his power.

There would always be resistance. He was not so foolish as to think that he would be able to destroy that for as long as Rey lived, and the force must have balance. For every scrap of power he gained in the darkness, she would grow in the Light. He allowed them their little pocket, a cluster of worlds on the very edge of the galaxy where they could be contained, guarded. Most of the time they were contained to those worlds, with trade ships allowed through the barricades but nothing more.

And then he had come upon Light Yagami once more, almost by chance. The force drew them together again and, mid-battle, he had spun with his lightsabre only to pull the blow and throw his shoulder against Light’s, knocking him to the ground. With sabre to his throat he demanded that the boy, then only fifteen, yield. The stubborn child had not at first, but Kylo Ren had offered to train him in the force if he should yield, and Light had seen the benefits outweighed even his pride.

Light Yagami was, of course, an unacceptable name for the force user whose talents certainly did not lie in any brighter elements of the force. The darkness in the boy demanded something else, and so he had granted him the name Kira.

Kira; the killer. Light’s greatest talent.

Give him a name and a face, and no matter where the person was in the galaxy, no matter whether they were known to him previously or not, and he could still their heart.

With the rise of Kira, Kylo Ren was hopeful that the Resistance could be wiped out once and for all, once Kira was ready. All he would need to do would be to give the boy a face to match with the name; General Rey would fall, and with her the last of the resistance.

* * *

 

“Your progress continues,” Kylo praised; not too highly, not enough to really trigger the narcissist’s pride. Enough to keep him amicable, but not enough to please. “There are whispers now, across the galaxy, of my worthy apprentice.”

The boy looked impassive, except for the eyes which betrayed his pride.

“It is time for you to prove your loyalty,” he continued. “To branch out beyond the reach of this ship.”

“If that is your wish, Master,” Kira agreed, a slight incline of his head in agreement. He never once took his eyes off Kylo, and it left the Supreme Leader feeling vaguely uncomfortable as it always did. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, adrenaline difficult to suppress with this natural reaction to a predator in his presence. “Perhaps a trip to Tangenine? There are rumours of rebel sightings…”

“No,” Kylo spoke, just a little too harshly. He knew exactly who had been spotted on Tangenine and told himself that Kira was not yet ready for that particular challenge. Not yet. “A relic has been found on Jakku. The resistance have their eye on it. You will retrieve it and bring it to me.”

“Jakku?” Kira’s disgust was obvious. The lonely, impoverished desert planet was certainly not up to his usual standards. Even the blowing sands that would disturb his perfect appearance would be a test for such a boy.

“Would you refuse me child?” Kylo was able to threaten him still, but he was very wary that the day would soon come when his threats would fall on deaf ears as the boy’s power over death grew. Kira had tried before, the force focused as a vice around his heart for just a moment before Ren had been able to shake it off, but even then it had not been easy.

A flickering of his fingers, and the force tightened around Kira’s throat. Fearless, Kira grinned back at him.

“Do not forget your place,” he cautioned when at last the boy dropped his eyes, yielding without words. He released the force hold, resisting temptation to breathe a sigh of relief himself as Kira was forced to gasp for the air he had been denied.

“What relic am I to retrieve Master?”

“A Holocron, recently discovered in the ruins from where the Falcon was once crashed,” Ren had heard the rumour of this through the connection he still shared with Rey, closed during waking hours but that control was sometimes broken during sleep. They still carried one another with them, but they never spoke. “The resistance will seek it, considering its source. It is currently for sale to the highest bidder.”

“And you would have me buy it?”

“No.” Kylo leaned forward, drumming fingers on the arm of the chair in irritation. “If I wanted to pay I would send one of the Generals.”

“You want me to take it,” Kira slowly smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. Kylo resisted temptation to withdraw, to lean away. “Take it from their cold, dead hands?”

“Yes, boy,” Ren agreed, approving. “That’ll do nicely.”

Kira inclined his head in a shallow nod, insolently not waiting to be dismissed before he rose, boots clicking on the metal floor as he strode away.

The door closed behind him silently, and Kylo sank back into his chair, forcing tense muscles to relax.

Ren had no doubt that as soon as he could, Kira would follow the age-old tradition extending from the Sith and kill his Master.

For now, he was the more powerful, and so he was safe.

However, Light Yagami was born and raised in a village full of rebels and though he was Kylo Ren’s apprentice Ren knew it was simply a means to an end. The boy had no interest in living in servitude for very long, nor did he approve of the way Ren ruled his galaxy.

Despite his power in the dark side of the force, Kira’s own ideas fell firmly in the grey. There was still light in him and no matter how many he killed it had not been eradicated. Ren should have been angry about this, should have forced Kira to choose one side of the force or the other as his master had for him. But Kylo Ren was older, and wiser, and perhaps having Rey in his mind for all of these years had rubbed off on him.

The force needed balance, and if it could find that balance in Light Yagami, in Kira, he would not stand in its way.

By nature of the force, Kira would not be alone. Somewhere out there in the vast galaxy as Kira’s power in the dark rose, there would be his equal in the light.

There were rumours… there had been for some time. No sightings, no reports, nothing official, but the rumours were impossible to dismiss.

Years ago there were whispers. Rey had a child. Not her own, already about ten years old by the time to stories started. A child that had some power in the force.

Kira may be powerful, but he had only started to master the force from the age of fifteen. Rey’s young apprentice – for that must be what he was – had been learning since he was ten years old. If he was truly Kira’s equal in the force, his power would be great and by now his control perfected.

Kira had to be field tested, and quickly. There was a calm settled over the galaxy, and Kylo Ren could feel the storm approaching. They had to be ready when it struck.


	2. L

When General Organa had passed there was only one that the Resistance could turn to. It wasn’t a role she had ever sought, nor one she wanted, but Rey had no choice. They needed her, as much as she needed them. Snoke had told Ren that as he gained power his equal in the light would rise, so perhaps it was fitting that she should be the leader of the resistance as he led the First Order, or the Empire of Ren as it had now come to be known.

The first year with her in command had been all about survival and rebuilding the lives of those in the Resistance. They had fled from planet to planet, their small band on the Millennium Falcon, unfortunately the most recognisable ship in the Galaxy. They had lost only a few more of their people, finding that despite their vulnerable state Ren did not devote resources to seeking them out and eliminating them. They were perhaps too few, too small to be worth his notice.

The second year had been about securing a base, and they had found their way to the island where the Jedi Temple had once stood, living in the huts there until they had regained their strength. From there they had returned to the galaxy’s central planets and managed to carve out a small corner for themselves on a few planets there. It was a challenge, and even finding any with sympathy for their cause was difficult under Ren’s rule. Though he crushed planets who sought to resist, he had brought such success to those that chose to bow before him that others were following suit, their surrender ensuring their safety and prosperity.

From all over the galaxy those who would not submit to Kylo Ren’s rule fled to the worlds they secured, and the Rebellion grew in strength, but so did the Empire of Ren. Soon there was a barricade around their few planets, allowing ships in but not out, not without being boarded and thoroughly searched for any potential hostiles. It was better than Rey had expected. They were allowed to continue their lives largely unhindered so long as they kept to their own worlds, rather than being eliminated by the new Empire.

When, in the eighth year of her command, a rescue pod arrived from a nearby planet containing a small group of orphaned children, she had encouraged the people of the resistance to welcome them with open arms. It was a frequent occurrence and should hardly have been noted amongst all the other refugees, but this group had changed things for Rey.

Whilst the youngest Near, Mello and Matt had all found homes within the Resistance quickly, another child had been difficult to place.

Beyond had proven to have a personality that discouraged anyone from adopting him, and after his third failed adoption the preteen had stolen a ship and left the Resistance. Rey was the only one sad to see him go.

There was one more child on the ship, an eleven-year-old who called himself L.

L was a challenge, even more so than Beyond had been. He was withdrawn, and he had odd habits that others judged quickly on meeting him. However, that was the least of her worries.

It didn’t take her long to realise that the boy was force sensitive. He already had some control over the force, using it to perform simple tasks such as finding his way to whatever sugary treats he could find. He had a peculiar fondness for berries of any kind, and strawberries in particular. On a base where everything was rationed these were hard to find, but soon they were unavailable as L devoured them all shamelessly.

He also used the force to keep himself apart from everyone. His anxieties about other people led to him pushing them away, sometimes literally with the force. The people were generally afraid of him, afraid of the risk of what he could become. He could be another Jedi… but he could also turn to the dark.

Rey had never intended to train another Jedi. She had intended that old order to die with her. After all, it made sense. There always had to be balance to the force, so if there were no Jedi, there would be no dark force users either.

Once she realised that L was force sensitive she had reached out to him, intending to assess how powerful he was. However, what she felt there had startled her. Suddenly she had some sympathy for how Luke must have felt to find darkness in Ben Solo; L was not a creature of light.

Perhaps because he had seen his parents die right before his eyes, L had a certain affinity for the darkness. Though the majority of the force gathered within him was for the light, there was a shadow that worried her beneath it.

However, she had pushed through that instinctive response. Better to train L and allow him to understand what was happening, what power he had, than to let it overwhelm him. She recalled too well how it felt to be alone.

Perhaps he would choose to remain in some shade of grey and balance the force all by himself. She could only hope for that.

And so she had gained an apprentice, though she had not meant to.

* * *

 

“L?”

Rey knocked for a second time on the young man’s door, but again there was no reply. This was not unusual, and she sighed.

“L, I’m coming in,” she told him, pushing open the door.

L’s eyes were open, but unseeing. He was crouched in his chair, knees to his chest, back curved and staring wide-eyed into nothingness. Surrounding him the force swirled, raw power tamed and targeted into a needle point that stretched out through space to its target and allowing L to see.

A few moments before he blinked, and then looked up to her.

“Oh, General,” he smiled sweetly. “My apologies, I was a world away…”

L had a particular talent with the force that she had never been able to replicate; a talent that within the Resistance had given him the title of the greatest detective in the galaxy, though no one else knew how he was able to do what he did. He could solve any crime, could identify any guilty party by looking with the force into their minds no matter where they were.

“Find anything useful?” she asked him, postponing the purpose for her own visit.

“Only rumours,” he admitted. “But they are, perhaps, important ones.”

“Go on,” since rumours were why she had come, she was keen to hear what he had already learned.

“There are those who whisper of an apprentice to Kylo Ren,” L told her. Rey nodded, having been informed of those rumours herself from time to time. She regarded L, thinking that this other apprentice must be his equal in the darkness. Her only consolation was that, with L retaining some of that darkness in himself, if balance were maintained any apprentice to Ren would have at least a little of the light. There was still some hope for the galaxy.

“Those rumours have been spread for the last two years,” she informed him. In truth she had carefully kept them from him. “I’m here about another rumour.”

“Listening,” L approved, shifting his weight but not leaving his crouch. He meditated this way, but she knew it also made him feel more comfortable, safer in some way.

“There is a trader on Jakku selling a holocron,” she explained. “The rumours say that it may have come from the Falcon before I… liberated it.”

“Jakku?” L frowned. “You cannot go.”

“No,” she agreed. She could not set foot on the sands of Jakku, not without risking everything they had gained over all of these long years. The planet she had once called home was firmly in the grasp of the Empire of Ren, and it had very special treatment because of her connection with it. It was heavily guarded, and if she risked the journey she would certainly be captured or killed.

“Since you are here,” L mused, “you have come to ask me to go in your stead?”

“I must,” Rey agreed. “I would not ask if I did not think it could be important.”

“Indeed,” L agreed. “And you need it to be me, because I can defend it if Ren comes for it?”

“That’s right,” Rey sighed. “I would not ask this of you if I thought there might be another way…”

“You’re right, this would be safest,” L dismissed her concerns. “I won’t be able to take the Falcon?”

“No, that would just get you killed.”

“Then may I take the Empire ship?” L requested a vessel they had captured about six months before, when it had crash landed during a battle and Chewy had taken it. The ship was an Empire transport, small and quick but entirely unarmed. The perfect sort of thing to fill with innocuous goods and fly right to Jakku to do trade.

“That would be best,” Rey agreed. “It is already being prepared, actually.”

“Good,” L nodded. He adjusted his crouch, his eyes beginning to de-focus. “I will look ahead. How long will it take to prepare?”

“Half an hour,” she advised, leaving him to his meditations.


	3. Jakku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira and L meet in the Jakku desert.

The sands of Jakku were blowing in a gale, the abrasive air cutting the skin. L wrapped a ream of fabric tightly around his head, a strip covering all of his face except his eyes. He covered these with large, dark-lensed glasses, protecting him against the intense light and heat from the twin suns.

Around him the locals glared and shot him suspicious glances. Largely those who lived here did not cover their faces, their skins thickened from years of exposure to the climate here, and they didn’t trust those that did. He reached into the surface of their minds, seeking out any malicious intent and using that knowledge to avoid the worst of them. He was more than capable of defending himself, though his bent back and narrow frame would make them think he was not, but he did not want to make a scene.

Jakku was heavily guarded, and though this particular village held only a small number from the garrison he could not draw any more attention to himself. It would be bad enough if he had to draw his blaster or engage in hand-to-hand combat, but he resolved that he must avoid any circumstance in which he would have to draw his lightsabre. All these years and they had managed to largely hide his existence as a force user from the Empire of Ren, he could not risk that for such a small mission.

The trader who had found the holocron was, understandably, keeping himself safe until the time of the auction. L searched the minds of the locals for clues as to where he would be but he was unable to find the answer he needed. The event was planned for the evening and L had noticed at least three others who were outsiders in the village, there to place their own bids.

He had yet to see anyone from the Empire, but he knew it would only be a matter of time, and he had to be ready for them when they arrived.

For now he had to get out of the sand storm, so he made his way through the village to the town’s bar, taking a seat at a table in the corner and ruffling the surface of the minds there so that they would ignore his presence and his odd way of sitting. He sipped at a glass of water, alcohol out of the question since he had to keep his mind clear, and waited.

One by one the others who would bid made their way into the pub, the only place they could seek shelter. They were less cautious, and L delved a little further into minds addled by drink. Rey would certainly not approve of his methods, but he had to assure that they got this holocron, so he subtly twisted their thoughts and made them forget why they would want such a thing in the first place. One by one the bidders decided they didn’t want the holocron after all and they left the pub and planet behind them.

A few more figures trickled in through the day. L couldn’t make it too suspicious, so he left a handful of them well alone. Those that did not have the funds to outbid him were permitted to stay.

As the time approached, another figure strode into the bar.

Like L, this man had masked his face and as he unwound the rich fabric and shook the sand out of it L repeated the process that he had been performing all day and reached out to his mind.

He hit a wall before he had seen anything and recoiled, startled.

A force user. A powerful one, if the strength of that mental defence was to be believed. Could this be…?

Now that his face wasn’t hidden, L could see how young this man was; maybe still a teenager, though his face held none of the marks of acne that he would have almost expected to see on one of his age. He held himself with assurance and confidence, and his eyes shone with intelligence as he looked around and took in the room.

If this were Ren’s apprentice, L expected that he would not intend to bid; Ren would not spend money for something he felt he was entitled to. L’s fingers strayed to his blaster, ready to strike back if he were to move in any way that showed aggression.

But the boy didn’t attack. He only moved to the bar and ordered a drink.

L had never before found a mind he could not reveal to his exploration with the force. Even Rey, talented as she was, had something of a chink in the armour around her mind. That he didn’t utilise this was out of respect for her rather than lack of ability.

It seemed his usual methods were not going to work here. This man’s mind was impenetrable, and besides if he were to continue to try he might invite an attack.

L, needing more information, went to the bar after him.

“Let me get this,” L requested, handing the bartender the money for the other force user’s drink. The young man smiled sweetly at him, accepting the gesture as if it were expected. From L’s perception of the other minds in the bar there were more who would have bought this handsome young man the drink who were cursing their slow reactions in allowing the stranger to get to him first.

L was prompted by their thoughts to regard the young man’s features, something he tended not to bother himself with. Eyes that were closer to amber than brown looked out from beneath a fringe of brunette hair, which despite having been wrapped only minutes ago had fallen back into a natural style. His skin was flawless, not a mole or even freckle in sight and a tanned tone that L was never aware enough to associate with race or simply being tanned, having been raised in a multi-cultural, multi-race environment with the resistance.

There was an air of aristocracy about him, despite his simple clothing, and L was quite confident that he was in a way in disguise. He wished that there were chairs at the bar so that he could crouch, knees to his chest, because it would help him think. Being stood like this would reduce his deductive abilities by about 40%, and his thoughts were beginning to slow, to feel like treacle.

“You’re here for the auction,” L said it as a statement rather than a question, since the man was very obviously not a local, but he nodded regardless. “You’re cutting it fine.”

The auction was due to start in less than half an hour.

“It was a long journey,” the young man didn’t flinch even though L was aware how his wide-eyed owlish stare normally bothered most people. Increasingly L was uncomfortable with the wall around the young man’s mind, and out of self-preservation more than anything he decided not to pursue his thoughts. Instead he carefully withdrew the reaches of the force he was controlling from everyone in the room, containing the power as well as he could within himself so that it was hidden.

“Then you’ll be needing more than just that one drink,” L offered, waving the bartender to get the young man another.

This… boy. He could be the one L had been awaiting warily, the one he had only heard rumours of. Ren’s apprentice, the one who had been sent from the Empire to claim the holocron. However, the longer he sat at the bar without taking any action the less certain L could be. It was suspicious enough that he could not see into the man’s mind, but that alone was not enough. There may not be other known force users out there but that didn’t mean that they did not exist, and any force user would be interested in this holocron. The artefacts dating back to the time of the Jedi were so few and far between now, with most destroyed or seized by Kylo Ren.

When he had entered, had thought for sure that all hell was about to break loose. Now, however, he could only be 30% certain that this boy was here on behalf of the Empire.

“Thanks,” the young man took the second drink the bartender poured and drank it down. Unlike L, he didn’t seem quite so concerned about keeping his wits about him. L lowered the percentage to 25%. “Have you been waiting a while?”

“I came early,” L admitted. He leaned in conspiratorially. “Wanted to scout out the competition.”

“That seems rather irrelevant,” the young man looked like he was judging L. “It’s an auction. Either you have enough money to be the highest bidder or you don’t.”

“Whilst that is partly true, there is a certain degree of psychology to it as well,” L explained. “If I can make people think I can outbid them before the auction, they leave.”

“And now I’m your latest target?” he raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. Definitely judging. L was quite aware of how he looked. Beneath his robe for protection against the sand he was wearing a plain white top and deep blue loose-fitting trousers, both of which were perfectly clean but had evidently seen some wear. His hair was its usual birds nest mess, sticking out in all directions because that was how it naturally sat and not because he had covered it earlier. He had permanent black bags under his eyes, making them look even larger than they were and a stark contrast to his pale skin, from staying inside most of the time. If all of that hadn’t made it obvious that he was not from money, he was also rake thin as if he didn’t have enough to eat, though that was more because he preferred sweet foods than the resistance rationing.

“Oh, I doubt I could convince _you_ ,” L admitted. Not without being able to get past those barriers he had up around his mind. At least he didn’t seem to be able to reach out through the force in return; though it surrounded him like a cloak it didn’t seem to have shifted at all since his entrance. “Actually, I wondered whether you might be interested in working together to get this priceless artefact.”

“Hardly priceless when it’s up for auction,” the young man complained. “And is it not strange to propose an alliance of sorts to someone whose name you don’t even know?”

“Well perhaps we should rectify that,” L thought on his feet. Even though the chance of this man being Ren’s apprentice was now about 17%, and still decreasing with the more time he was being reasonable, and part of the rumour he had found spoke of the danger of him knowing your name. “Rue Ryuzaki.”

The boy’s eyes narrowed, as if he spied the alias, but he did not comment on it. L offered out a long-fingered hand for him to shake, wordlessly requesting the young man’s name in return.

“Light Yagami,” he steadily reached out to shake the spidery hand with a firm and confident grip.

“There,” L managed a broad, sweet and inviting smile. “Now we aren’t strangers.”

“Knowing your name still does not mean I would be able to collaborate with you,” Yagami was frowning at him, his expression some mixture of confusion and judgement there. If L had to guess, he thought L naïve. It felt strange, not to know. L thought that perhaps, if there were no so much risk involved in another powerful force user who could turn to the dark, it could be refreshing not to know what another person was thinking all of the time. “What is it you want from this holocron?”

“To learn its secrets,” L hedged. There was no way he could declare that he would take it back to the resistance

“But you have to be able to use the force to open it?”

“Indeed,” L sipped his water. It was a risk to ever openly admit to being a force user, since even weak ones were taken into the control of the Supreme Leader and many were killed. However, there was absolutely no point pretending, not with this man who would be able to sense it in him regardless. “Which begs the question, what do you want with it?”

“The same.”

Their eyes met, both having known that the other had power with the force and still both a little surprised that no deception was attempted about their abilities at least. L puzzled over Light’s answer; he was inclined to believe it a lie, as was his own, but the young man was so very convincing. If he were a liar, he was naturally talented at it.

If he were sent by Ren – twelve percent - and L tried to withhold the holocron from him, this would all end in conflict unless he left with the holocron peacefully. L needed to know whether it was valuable enough to be worth protecting; the information contained within could be anything from secret teachings of Jedi to tactical messages related to battles long since passed and now useful only as a historical artefact. If it were the former, the battle would be worthwhile. If it were the latter…

If Light Yagami was not sent by Ren, the chances of which were looking more favourable, there was not such great harm in letting him see the thing and identify what it was, so it would make sense.

“Alright,” L smiled as invitingly as he could manage, waving the bartender to fetch another drink. No matter how good he was with the force, the alcohol would impair him a little and if he were sent by Ren the more he drank the better. He did not touch this third glass, however, taking L’s replacement glass of water instead. “Why don’t we buy it together, and then open it here? Once we know what’s inside it we will know who it values more and can repay the other in exchange for full ownership.”

“If we were able to repay the other we would be able to buy it individually,” Light argued.

“Of course, unless we were bidding against one another,” L pointed out. “Then the seller just gets more money when we could work this out amicably.”

Light narrowed his eyes, clearly distrusting, but after a minute he shrugged.

“Alright,” he agreed. “But if we both want it there would be a problem.”

“Then we could work it out between ourselves,” L suggested, though he interpreted the statement as the warning, the threat that was intended. He increased the percentage to 19% accordingly. Neither of them made any moves to pretend that ‘work it out’ meant anything other than fighting one another over the holocron. L was okay with that. He had never lost a fight… although, this would be different. He could usually see what the other would do from their mind before they did it, allowing him to counter perfectly and strike under their guard.

“Fine,” the force surrounding Yagami rippled, like a muscle being clenched and released, but L could not tell what he had done with it. It worried him, doubly so because until then the man hadn’t shown any sign that he knew what he was doing with his ability, but this was not a wild ripple in the force; this was controlled and targeted. L only hoped it was not against him. Trying not to reveal too much of his own power and ability to use it, he tried to check himself for its influence but found none.

* * *

 

Kira had entered the bar expecting to kill any there for the holocron and to threaten any who were hiding it from him.

He had not expected to find a force user present, nor one so powerful. The first thing he felt on entering was a fluttering, a sensation alike to butterfly wings but around his thoughts, the barriers that surrounded his mind. Not as powerful as his master or perhaps not as experienced at breaking through psychic defences, not able to penetrate the walls he maintained rigidly, but he knew what he was doing. This was deliberate, and unexpected.

And thrilling.

The thought came unwanted and unbidden, but it was true. He had found not just another force user, despite thinking that all others had been eradicated by his Master, but one who was powerful and had some control.

The force user seemed to recognise him as the same, too, quickly withdrawing and trying to hide his abilities, but it was too late. Light had already caught him in his sights, felt the combination of the light and dark force that surrounded him for only a moment before it was withdrawn.

Reassuringly, not a Jedi. There was darkness there, not as much as there was light, but enough to convince him. Somehow this other force user must not be entirely untrained, since he had such control, though it could be possible to have learned some control on his own. Light had before Ren found him; though he had a genius level intellect, which had made things easier.

This new force user was, at the very least, intriguing. Light didn’t want to have to kill him, not right away.

He made his way to the bar, and the other force user joined him there. He continued to surprise Light as he negotiated a deal regarding the holocron, as he did not try to hide that he had some ability with the force, and as he did not shirk away from the idea of a potential fight. Light caught that he was behaving in a very deliberate, thought out way, manipulating and lying fluidly yet not as well as Light could. He tried not to be impressed. He had never met anyone quite like this before, even if he did look like he had been dragged through a hedge backwards.

Several hedges in fact. Or maybe a swamp, since he had been sitting like a frog when Light had arrived.

Light agreed to the deal with the man and then, just in case Ren was watching, used the force to make the entire pub undetectable to any force user trying to see into it from outside. If this went in a direction Ren wouldn’t approve of, he wouldn’t have to admit it to his master.

They didn’t have much time to converse; Light had timed his arrival to be just as the auction was supposed to start, and the delay that had already occurred was irritating at best. The auctioneer arrived ten minutes behind schedule, along with the owner of the holocron and half a dozen armed guards of various alien races, none of whom would pose any sort of threat for Light. Indeed the only threat was the man who dragged him to the seats and perched, strangely, back into that frog-like crouch.

“Can’t you sit normally?”

“I don’t sit like this because I want to,” the man’s voice was level and emotionless; indeed, Light was quite sure that it would always be like that unless he was deliberately using it to manipulate, to express a false emotion. “I do so because I have to. If I don’t sit like this, it reduces my thinking abilities by about 40%”

Light didn’t frown at the man, but internally he judged. Force user or not, this man was strange. He already disliked him intensely, as a person, but his abilities were so rare to find. He would tolerate him, for now.

The auction began, and Light allowed Ryuzaki to do the bidding. If there were any stooges present trying to increase the bid from the vendor they were less likely to target someone who looked like Ryuzaki than to target Light, who looked like he was more likely to have money to spare.

It was wrapped up quickly, no one bidding against Ryuzaki more than once. Indeed, each time someone did bid against him Light sensed the ripples in the force and recognised that Ryuzaki must be stopping them, controlling them.

A very dark ability inherently, even though the Jedi used to claim it as part of their arsenal as well when it suited them. How could it not be, when it could be used to enslave, to make someone do things against their will? It was one of Light’s favourite, aside from the ability to kill.

He tried to not be impressed.

“Shall we open it here, or would you prefer to go to my ship?” Light suggested. Ryuzaki stared at him with those huge, wide eyes.

“Here,” he determined. Clever man; Light would definitely have knocked him unconscious and taken him back to his Master, if he had agreed.

“In privacy, then,” Light suggested, glancing pointedly around the still quite crowded pub. Ryuzaki’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I don’t have all day.”

He wanted to see what Ryuzaki could do, and there was no point trying to hide it now. He had seen that the frog-like unkempt creature was actually quite able. Now he only wanted to know whether he could control a whole room of minds rather than each individually.

Ryuzaki stared at him a bit longer, biting the tip of a finger – not just the nail, but the whole finger end. Eventually he seemed to make his decision, and the force rippled more obviously. All as one, those present got to their feet and left the bar.

Intriguing.

Light reached out for the holocron, half expecting Ryuzaki to be protective of it, but the man handed it over without argument and so Light set it in the centre of the table. He was watched with interest, and he recognised that Ryuzaki was testing him in return, wanting to see if he could open the holocron.

Holocron were intelligently made by Sith an Jedi such that only the corresponding element of the force could open them. This one had a very light signature to it, which explained the frog-man’s interest. If Light could open it, it said a lot about him.

Fortunately, he had never limited himself to just the dark side of the force despite his talents with it, and he was able to open the holocron without difficulty.

Maps. Maps and maps and maps, and very familiar to Light. He had seen these before.

It took much of his self control not to move his hand to the lightsabre beneath his cloak, reminded as he was of where the crystal that powered it had been gathered, one amongst millions and yet the only one that had called to him in the darkness that night. Ren had told him it was a good sign, that he had found it in the darkness rather than the day.

He glanced at Ryuzaki and was surprised to see a little of that same recognition in his expression before it was carefully hidden.

So, these maps were important and yet not intrinsically valuable to Light. He already knew their secrets. Ryuzaki, on the other hand, perhaps knew more than he was letting on but it seemed unlikely that he should know how to make a lightsabre. They held less value to him. Except…

“Here,” Light pushed the holocron across the table, away from himself. “Take it.”

A force user, one who he had ingratiated to himself by giving this holocron. One who could use it to find his way to create his own traditional weapon.

Being an apprentice himself, Light could not take on an apprentice. However, he did not expect that situation would last long. He already knew Ren feared him. It was only a matter of time before he killed him, and then he could track this man down. Claim him for the dark.

They parted ways peacefully, heading in opposite directions to their ships. Light waited before launching, carefully sketching the exact likeness of the other force user. He had not given his real name, but with the face Light was sure he would be able to find him in the future.

Ren would surely try to punish him for not bringing back the holocron. A small smile spread across Light’s lips as he pictured ways to kill his Master, sooner rather than later. He wouldn’t tell him about this force user, would find another reason to have not claimed the holocron. Before he took off from the planet’s surface, he lifted the blinding shield of the force around himself, letting himself be visible to Ren’s searching once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos really keep me motivated to write, and tell me that you're still interested, especially on a cross over like this. Please, if you can spare a moment, hit that kudos button and if you're especially generous, let me know what you think, or even what you would like to see happen. Inspiration can come in many forms!


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